Joshua Weinstein is a biophysicist and molecular technologist. He works on developing DNA-based technologies for high-throughput encoding and decoding of biological information with a view toward applications in biology and medicine. He has previously worked on applying massively parallel DNA sequencing to the study of immune receptor repertoires. Recently, he invented DNA microscopy, an imaging modality that uses DNA rather than light as an imaging medium in order to generate detailed pictures of how genetic diversity distributes spatially across biological specimens.
Prof. Weinsten completed his undergraduate studies in physics and biophysics at the University of Pennsylvania, and his PhD in biophysics at Stanford University in 2012 under the direction of Stephen Quake and Daniel Fisher. There, he published the first global measurements of immune receptor sequence repertoires, using the zebrafish as a model organism. Weinstein later applied repertoire-sequencing to immune development and human vaccine response.
Weinsten completed his postdoctoral work at the Broad Institute/Massachusetts Institute of Technology, under the joint-mentorship of Feng Zhang and Aviv Regev, where he was supported by a Simons Fellowship from the Life Sciences Research Foundation. There, he developed DNA microscopy, enabling biological specimens to “image themselves” and thereby generating detailed spatio-genetic data sets, which bypass the need for specialized equipment. In 2019, Weinstein moved to his current position as assistant professor of molecular engineering and medicine in the section of genetic medicine at the University of Chicago.
Spatial transcriptomic imaging of an intact organism using volumetric DNA microscopy.
Spatial transcriptomic imaging of an intact organism using volumetric DNA microscopy. Nat Biotechnol. 2026 Feb; 44(2):222-232.
PMID: 40148595
Refining the lens of DNA microscopy.
Refining the lens of DNA microscopy. Nat Comput Sci. 2024 Feb; 4(2):94-95.
PMID: 38365998
Volumetric imaging of an intact organism by a distributed molecular network.
Volumetric imaging of an intact organism by a distributed molecular network. bioRxiv. 2023 Aug 14.
PMID: 37645933
DNA Microscopy: Optics-free Spatio-genetic Imaging by a Stand-Alone Chemical Reaction.
DNA Microscopy: Optics-free Spatio-genetic Imaging by a Stand-Alone Chemical Reaction. Cell. 2019 06 27; 178(1):229-241.e16.
PMID: 31230717
Genetic measurement of memory B-cell recall using antibody repertoire sequencing.
Genetic measurement of memory B-cell recall using antibody repertoire sequencing. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2013 Aug 13; 110(33):13463-8.
PMID: 23898164
DNA targeting specificity of RNA-guided Cas9 nucleases.
DNA targeting specificity of RNA-guided Cas9 nucleases. Nat Biotechnol. 2013 Sep; 31(9):827-32.
PMID: 23873081
Correlation of gene expression and genome mutation in single B-cells.
Correlation of gene expression and genome mutation in single B-cells. PLoS One. 2013; 8(6):e67624.
PMID: 23840752
Lineage structure of the human antibody repertoire in response to influenza vaccination.
Lineage structure of the human antibody repertoire in response to influenza vaccination. Sci Transl Med. 2013 Feb 06; 5(171):171ra19.
PMID: 23390249
Determinism and stochasticity during maturation of the zebrafish antibody repertoire.
Determinism and stochasticity during maturation of the zebrafish antibody repertoire. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2011 Mar 29; 108(13):5348-53.
PMID: 21393572
High-throughput sequencing of the zebrafish antibody repertoire.
High-throughput sequencing of the zebrafish antibody repertoire. Science. 2009 May 08; 324(5928):807-10.
PMID: 19423829